Brussels, 29/07/2002 (Agence Europe) - The negotiating meeting on enlargement at substitute level opened late afternoon Monday with the closing of the regional chapter with Malta. When they established their common position, the Member States, and then Malta, agreed to the proposal presented by the Commission. Malta should be eligible to aid under Objective 1 (aid to regions lagging behind in development), the Cohesion Fund (aid to the construction of infrastructures for the less developed countries), Interreg (cooperation between regions), and Equal (social programme). As its territory is very reduced compared to giants such as Poland, Malta should receive, as a percentage of the funds granted to the new Member States: 0.4% of Objective 1 aid, from 0.2 to 0.4% of Cohesion Funds, 0.6% of Interreg and 0.5% of Equal. These percentages, which are valid for the years 2004 to 2006, are calculated on the basis of membership by ten new Member States in 2004, and on the GDP per region from 1997 to 1999. These figures could be reviewed if new data becomes available before negotiations are concluded. They will then be final until 31 December 2006, the end of the programming period valid for all Member States. Furthermore, the Maltese and European discussion partners opened negotiations on the agricultural chapter. They have not closed the veterinary and phytosanitary part of the chapter because the Commission is still awaiting a response from Malta on compliance with the sanitary rules in dairies, explained a Danish diplomat. Finally, they discussed the chapter on customs Union.